Murdoch (ISBN 0684830159)

How about an update to the update?:
When I read William Shawcross' "Murdoch" back when it was originally published (early 90s), I thought it was one of the best biographies I had read. I especially liked the author's focus on his subject's "pre-News" days, most notably a very memorable discussion on Murdoch's infatuation with Marxism during his university days. Murdoch explains that period away with the following answer: "If you're 20 and not a communist, you have no heart; and if you're 40 and not a capitalist, you have no head." Shawcross then painstakingly builds a portrait of a man who - over the next 30 years - slides clear across the spectrum to become Maggie Thatcher's biggest champion. There's a great blow-by-blow of Murdoch's battle with the press unions at Wapping, with Thatcher's tacit support. Of course, things in Murdoch's world move quickly, so Shawcross put out an update edition (this one) in 1997. Now, we need an update to the update. So much has transpired in these six years. We need Shawcross' take on: - The continued rise of the Fox Network (expecially Fox News) - Lachlan and James Murdoch's increasingly large roles at News Corp. - The DirectTV takeover attempts (Part 1 and 2) - Continued efforts to penetrate India and China - Wife #3 Wendy Deng + two new young children ...and much, much more. Never a dull moment with the man who fellow (now ex-) mogul Ted Turner heads up the world's leading "evil empire."

Relatively balanced business biography:
Murdoch is, to say the least, one of the more controversial figures in media today. His name still inspires visions of the pitched battles that have arisen around the pieces of his empire and the ethical debates about the role of journalism and issues of media ownership. There is a tremendous amount to be learned from studying Murdoch and the way he built his kingdom, and this book is not to be missed, particularly for people studying media history or the media industry. Shawcross presents a very balanced picture, light on both censure and praise, and manages to give enough personal detail to illuminate the public Murdoch without veering into a personal melodrama. The writing is occasionally a bit dry, but generally of a high quality & the source notes and bibliography are quite valuable in and of themselves.

Good - but not well balanced:
The book is quite exhaustive about his beginnings - and his attitude towards competition, employees and enemies, I was hoping to read more about the political favors that he most definitely got in other countries besides the US, Aus and the UK. I also wanted to know how these political wheelings and deelings have helped him - because lets fase it - with the amount of money/ business that he inherited, it may not have been too difficult for a few others to achieve the greeatness that Murdoch has achieved in his lifetime. Also the fact that he is still working might have taken away some of the liberty from the author to shed more light on the ugly side of Murdoch. I would have also liked more coverage of the 90s, when the floodgates were opened for him to capture Europe and Asia.

Excellent biography.:
Very well documented personal (a combination of gambling instinct and dour puritanism) and business biography of the media tycoon. The rise of Murdoch from an owner of a small newspaper in Australia to a global media tycoon. His motif: "power, not money." The power to influence political/social history through his colossal media empire. Murdoch believes that the Americanizing of the world is not only profitable for his business, but a great good in itself. The author situates the ascent of Murdoch within the world political history (cold war, Thatcher, Reagan ...) and gives an incisive portrait of some of his collaborators: Barry Diller and Kelvin Mac Kenzie (editor of his milk cow 'The Sun'). Written with a good sense of humour, e.g. "... Giles should assume the title of Editor Emeritus ... Giles asked Murdoch what this title really meant . It's Latin, Frank. E means exit and meritus means you deserve it." Or, after Murdoch banned alcohol on the working place, someone replied "Free drunks produce better newspapers than sober slaves". The tycoon was even asked by the Vietnamese government to make communist-controlled television more popular! Besides, the author gives a sneer at Unesco for attacking freedom of information. One minus point: on different occasions, the author refers to big financial troubles for the media empire without giving the numbers.

Great book but needs an update:
Rupert Murdoch is one of the most interesting business men of our day. His growth at the Fox Network and other various news outlets has made him one of the most powerful men on the planet. Shawcross does an excellent biography telling about his life in Australia up through his dominant position in America today. It covers the start of the fourth network as well as the New York post and battles with government regulators. It stops before the Fox News Channel really gets going but this still remains the best biography on Murdoch that has been done to date.